In light of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” movie, which premiered in theaters on Friday, Oct. 13, and set a box office record for a movie concert debut at $96 million, Accolade spotlight editor Alexxa Berumen reflects on her live concert experience in August 2023.
SUNDAY, AUG. 6, ONE DAY BEFORE THE CONCERT
About a dozen of my family members and I spent two hours stringing small, plastic beads onto elastic bands and placing the finished ones on the dining room glass table of my Fullerton home.
We had just finished decorating several colorful bracelets with excerpts of Taylor Swift lyrics, such as “16 and Wild” and “Afterglow.” These would be the ones we would wear and trade with other concert goers at “The Eras Tour” performance the next night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood – in reference to the lyric, “Make the friendship bracelets / take the moment and taste it,” from Swift’s 2022 song, “You’re on Your Own, Kid.”
Later that night, I went to sleep in anticipation of the next evening. I had my bejeweled corset, beaded friendship bracelets and black skirt laid out on my desk – all the items I would be wearing. I ended up dreaming of me at the venue screaming the bridge to Swift’s 2019 single, “Cruel Summer.”
Swift’s music has been a bonding memory between my sisters, cousins and I for as long as I could remember — from choreographing dances to her music to doing karaoke at our holiday parties, her songs were a common denominator in my childhood.
As my cousins, sisters and I grew older, the tight-knit feeling we had began to loosen. It was with this concert, as well as the numerous activities that we did in preparation for it, that restored that sense of nostalgia for me.
MONDAY, AUG. 7, CONCERT DAY
The morning was a blur of makeup and music playing on the house speaker, until my sister, my mom and I stepped into the venue at around 3 p.m., five hours before Swift would show up on stage to perform her first set.
A sea of people in glitter and donning different eras of Swift’s music career flooded the entrance lines and merchandise trucks.
My sister and I spent an hour trading places from the line in the heat to the shaded tree, sweating, solely for two blue sweatshirts featuring the names of Swift’s albums and a tie-dye T-shirt showcasing pictures of the signer through various albums, which cost $170 in total — yet it was worth it when we stepped foot into the entrance to see lines at least three hours long of those who chose to not wait before.
Our entry went smoothly, and we met my cousins and aunt once we secured our LED show bracelets, which were included with the tickets, that would light up throughout various stages of the show, inside the venue.
Background music set the scene as thousands of Swifties, the proclaimed name of the singer’s fan base, including myself, eagerly traded friendship bracelets to kill time before the openers went on.
Singer Gracie Abrams kicked off the night with her song, “Where Do We Go Now?” which sent the crowds chanting and screaming, “Gracie.”
A loud applause bid her farewell and welcomed a band of three sisters I resonate with, coming from a household of sisters: American rock band HAIM.
THE MOMENT OF OUR WILDEST DREAMS
As the clock projected onto the stage and electronic billboards surrounding it hit 00:00, I spotted dancers running onto the stage, holding oversized pink and orange plumes and setting the stage for Swift’s grand entrance.
The tune to “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” echoed through the dark stadium as a pre-recorded audio of Swift’s voice threw out the various names of her albums and famous lyrics.
She emerged to the famous line, “It’s been a long time coming,” while fans screamed louder than I have ever heard in any past concert (this being my fourth).
I shook in anticipation, knowing this was the moment I had been waiting months for.
Through the beginning monologue she gave, the LED bracelets shone different shades of pink and yellow to match the colors of her first era of her 2019 album, Lover.
I looked around, mesmerized by the ambiance of the stadium while the shrill noises from the sections surrounding me grew louder as Swift began to sing “Cruel Summer” from Lover.
Eventually, she arrived at the unanimous fan favorite part of the song, stopping the crowd to ask, “Does anyone know the lyrics to this bridge?”
Screaming, yelling and more screaming. The words echoed across the stage with LED bracelets flashing in sync to the beat as the audience chanted along in a concordant state of euphoria.
Hearing the crowd singing louder than Swift’s sound system projecting her voice, I began to yell louder. I thought of all of the times I had sung along to this song with my three younger sisters and wished all of them could have been here with me.
My voice was absolutely fried by the end of the Lover segment (only about 15 minutes in), not nearly prepared to muster through the rest of the night. Similarly, my sister and my cousins’ voices were gone too, but that didn’t stop us from singing the rest of the songs to the loudest of our abilities.
Golden sparks flew across the stage as the singer headed for a short intermission to costume change into the next era of Fearless, leaving the audience bewildered, still soaking in her previous performance.
Her gold flapper gown was gorgeous as she twirled around the stage with her rhinestone guitar in anticipation of her next song, named after the 2008 album — “Fearless.”
She then sang two of her possibly most famous songs, “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story.” I scanned the crowd in hopes of catching a glimpse of someone proposing, as many videos had been going viral of this happening during “Love Story.”
With one of the best costumes of the night, a sparkling bronze ball gown, Swift started singing songs from the era of evermore and invited back to the stage HAIM for Swift’s collaboration song, “no body, no crime.”
Golden orbs floated with the dancers as they proceeded through the next song, “willow,” until they reached the song, “marjorie.”
This sentimental piece, which focused on Swift’s late grandma and the memories they cherished together, played as she held the microphone close to her heart.
The most painful part of the song emerged and reminded me of my own experiences as she sang, “I should’ve asked you questions / I should’ve asked you how to be / Asked you to write it down for me / Should’ve kept every grocery store receipt / ‘Cause every scrap of you would be taken from me.”
In respect, fans turned on the flash of their phones and swayed to the rhythm of that song, creating a serene moment filled with raw emotion.
Time slipped away as the singer performed her 10 albums, nearing the end of the show.
She stepped out from backstage in a new gown – her 14th outfit change by now– signaling the surprise song segment, which features two songs that change every night.
Silence filled the room as she began to hint at which song she would be playing acoustic that evening.
“Our secret moments in a crowded room” left her mouth, and I immediately yelled, “Oh, my. She’s singing, ‘Dress,’” to my family.
Out of the songs left for her to play, this was the one I yearned to see her perform the most. I remembered joking with my sister that I would cry at some point during the concert, and now I’m tearing up as I´m singing along.
Every night before I went to sleep, I would go to the live stream of her concert that night to track which surprise song she was singing, hoping she would save a good pair for the night of my concert. “Dress” was one of the songs I really was hoping for. It was a moment of pure catharsis.
She cascaded over to the piano segment of the surprise songs to start the notes to “exile” in which the whole crowd sang along to the folklore piece.
My heart dropped as I realized the moments I had been waiting for for a month and a half had passed by so quickly, and I could not relive them as the singer walked off stage to prepare for her last era of the night.
The singer played songs from her latest album, Midnights, including “Bejeweled,” which I excitedly sang along to as it was the music video my outfit was supposed to resemble.
Finally, she ended with one of her more popular tracks, “Karma,” wearing a stunning beaded bodysuit as confetti rained down on the stage.
It was over. I couldn’t believe it was over. My eyes misted up as I hugged my family.
Forty-four songs, 16 costume changes, nine microphones and well over three hours long.
The Eras Tour was a magical experience that I will never regret.
Even though I woke up with my voice gone and mascara smudged all over my face the next morning, I wish I could go “back to Aug. 7 all the time.”
